If some were worried about Patrick Mahomes with Tyreek Hill leaving for the Miami Dolphins, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback was more than convincing on Sunday.
Mahomes led the Chiefs to a 44-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals with five touchdowns and 360 yards.
He spotted Travis Kelce for a major and the tight end had 121 yards in the game. Clyde Edwards-Helaire received two assists from his quarterback for majors.
Mecole Hardman and Jody Fortson were also targeted by Mahomes for touchdowns. Isiah Pacheco scored his first touchdown in the NFL with a late-game run.
For the Cards, Kyler Murray threw two touchdown passes and got 193 yards.
The Chiefs had to temporarily manage without the services of regular kicker Harrison Butker against the Cardinals.
The latter was injured on a punt at the start of the match as we can see on the sequence that he slips on the ground. He left for the locker room afterwards.
This means that the KC team had to turn to another player to perform the kicks and the task fell to safety Justin Reid. He also managed a one-point conversion, but he also missed an attempt. Butker eventually came back into the game, but he was struggling to move around the field.
Chargers have Raiders
Justin Herbert threw for three touchdown passes and for 279 yards, helping the Los Angeles Chargers defeat the Las Vegas Raiders 24-19.
In his Chargers debut, Khalil Mack had three sacks and he helped ruin Josh McDaniels’ debut as Raiders head coach.
It was a replay of the last game of last season, in which the Raiders made a field goal in the final seconds of overtime to eliminate the Chargers.
Herbert completed 26 of 34 passes and posted a 129.4 efficiency rating even though he lost star receiver Keenan Allen to a hamstring injury in the first half. Also, Mike Williams didn’t catch a ball until the fourth quarter.
Derek Carr had 22 of 37 passes grabbed for 295 yards. The Raiders quarterback threw two touchdown passes, but also had three interceptions.
Carr joined Davante Adams, his former Fresno State University teammate, 10 times for 141 yards and a touchdown. Adams was acquired from the Green Bay Packers during the offseason.
Herbert’s three touchdown passes also landed in the hands of an offseason acquisition. Seventh-round pick Zander Horvath and DeAndre Carter picked up a game-winning pass in the second quarter to give the Chargers a 17-3 halftime lead.
Gerald Everett added an 18-yard reception for a major in the third quarter, when he carried Raiders safety Roderic Teamer three yards to give the Chargers a 24-10 lead.
Both Carter and Everett had three catches. Carter had 64 yards while Everett had 54.
The Chargers have won their last four openers.
The Los Angeles troops also benefited from the performance of Bryce Callahan, another newcomer, who intervened in front of Darren Waller and the ball to intercept a pass from Carr in the fourth quarter.
It was the second time in a nine-year career that Carr had three interceptions in one game. The first time came in the 2018 season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.
Bullock’s imprecision gives Giants victory
Tennessee Titans kicker Randy Bullock missed a 47-yard field goal attempt in the final moments of the game, allowing the New York Giants to save themselves with a 21-20 victory.
Quarterback Daniel Jones passed to Chris Myarick on one yard for a major before finding Saquon Barkley on a two-point conversion with 1:06 remaining.
The Saquon for sunny days is back
The new Giants coach Brian Daboll therefore wins on his debut at the helm of the club.
The Titans, favorites according to many in the AFC following a 12-5 season last year, believed victory was in the pocket, but the punt Bullock went to the left of the post against one of his former teams. However, he had succeeded in his two previous attempts.
Barkley, who had his best game since Dec. 22, 2019, had 164 yards and a rushing touchdown. In 13 games last year, he only reached 100 yards once.
Jones completed 17 of 21 passes for 188 yards. He was notably the victim of an interception.
His counterpart, Ryan Tannehill completed 20 of 33 passes for 266 yards and two touchdown passes to Dontrell Hilliard.
